Last Vegas

Oh, my love affair for Vegas.

I have been hooked ever since I went back in 2006. In the past 4 years, we make an annual pilgrimage to the city of sin. Last year we even went twice!

Back in June, hubs and I booked a trip to Vegas a little bit on a whim. We got a fabulous hotel deal through Amazon and our flights were dirt cheap through southwest. We would be going in October, during our two week break.

**Fast forward to October**

I have been asked if Muggle is a Vegas baby. Nope! I was actually already 5 weeks pregnant with Muggle butt. I figured this would be an interesting trip. I definitely couldn't partake in any fun drinks and I knew I probably shouldn't wear my sky high heels (partly because I am klutz). I was still BEYOND excited. I figured this would be my last Vegas hurrah, FOR NOW. I am hoping to go back sometime!

Vegas definitely didn't disappoint. It was fun and we of course had some good ol' fun adventures. Some highlights were eating at some of our yummy fave places, enjoying the sights, and of course, partaking in the nightlife scene, even better we walked in with ease and for FREE (Lavo and Marquee were so fun!). DON'T JUDGE, lol! I wasn't even showing yet, LOL!!!!!!!! Though now, it would look terrible if I did go, haha!!!!

We stayed at the Venetian, which was SO fancy! We usually cheap it out by staying at cheaper places, but thanks to our great deal, we were able to be fancy pants and stay there. Holy cow, it was gorg! I didn't want to leave our room! I made it a point to wear all the robes, sit on all the furniture, watch something on all of the TVs, etc. LOL! It was so fun!

One of my most favorite moments was our Cirque Du Solei experience. Every time we go, we set aside some money to see a Cirque show. Its seriously worth the money y'all! We chose to see Zarkana, at the Aria. We purchased our tickets at the half price ticket booths (seriously you save money) that are on the strip. We went to the Aria to pick our seats.

Now, I would like to point out that hubby and I aren't the type of people who get lucky, like being bumped to first class or a fancy hotel suite. I wish we had that luck, but we don't, lol! So I was pleasantly surprised when the guy helping us moved us up closer (we were in the balcony section) so we would be sitting in the front balcony area, rather than the middle. The ticket prices for those seats were much more pricey,  so we were thrilled for the free upgrade. Then, it got even more fun! Upon arriving later that night, a nice older gentlemen led us to our seats. We were chatting a bit with him and he must have liked us. He took a look at our tickets and said, "How would you feel about sitting on a couch?" We didn't mind of course, though we didn't know what that meant, lol! He ended up taking us to a special couch seating near the middle front! We quickly looked up that those ticket prices were over $300! We were so thrilled and beyond excited for our good little fortune. We thanked him profusely. Our seats were incredible, we could see everything perfectly! I felt so excited, I even cried a little. OH pregnancy hormones, LOL!!!!!

Overall, it was fantastic! As usual, it was a bummer to come home!

Here is some of my Vegas pics, enjoy!

           From left to right...Our flight over to LV/ /Excited to be at Venetian! //Gorgeous lobby and the hub// another shot of the amazing lobby

Being fancypants poolside//before heading out. Hot dang I am small!//crazy hub at dinner// outside of Lavo

  

Inside Lavo, so amazing can't you tell//hub wife shot//wearing a drink band and showing I can't use it lol//cool shot from Lavo dance floor

Serendipitous lunch//my adorb hub with the huge menu//yummo lunch//how I wish that Eiffel was for real!

On our way to Zarkana//in front of the theater// our view!!//dinner after at Mon Ami Gabi

Our view of the Bellagio water show// my yummo dinner// Ah, Marquee was amazing!// inside of Marquee...can't see jack

Don't ask what hubs is doing lol//yummy desserts after a good lunch//one last strip view//bye byeVegas

Wait, what's happening in 5 months?!?!?

Hi all!

I think its safe to say that this pregnancy has been great and wonderful so far. Everyday I say thanks to God for allowing this amazing miracle to take place, and I still can't believe a human is forming inside of me, holy crap! 

And before you keep rolling your eyes over my cheesiness, don't worry, reality set in over a week ago.
In a mere, quick 5 months, our precious miracle will be here.

Wait...what?!?!

Reality really struck over a week ago. It actually happened at Target. I went by myself to pick up a few items. I had to pee, so I  went to the bathroom, decided to get a Starbucks after, and started to go through the racks and aisles, feeling peaceful and calm.
 Then I heard it.
The screaming, the crying. One poor mom was struggling to appease her crying baby while  trying to deal with her other two very small children. Another little one was throwing a fit over not getting a certain toy. I mean, we all know these scenarios.

Then, it hit me...
 No more looong leisure Target trips unless I'm alone. The days of pacing the aisles and racks with zero time constraint will soon be over. Days of sleeping in, taking long showers, etc are all numbered. Don't get me wrong, I am OVERJOYED to be a mom. However, I realizing a big change is a-comin'.

 Then to top it all off, yesterday one of my kid-less friends jokingly posted this picture on IG saying, "this why I am not having kids anytime soon."

I saw this picture and balked. Oh s--- (no pun intended) this could be my child! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! Pee, stinky poo and throw up will be a part of my life. The throw up part freaks me out the most. I can hardly stand myself throwing up. I know, I hear the mommy gene kicks in and you get over it. I am counting on that!

This is why I took my time (4 years) to become a mommy. Because of one word: CHANGE. You see, hubs and I have had a fast paced life. We were (still are) constantly on the go, doing things on a whim. If we decide to do at 10 pm movie, we do it. We would wine taste almost every weekend. We would spontaneously go out with  kid-less friends, have fun dress up nights out in downtown, and we love(d) to travel. Our dream is to travel Europe and while that hasn't happened YET, we would still make it a point to do travels within the country and go on fun road trips. I loved our spontaneous life, because I knew once we had kids, things would have to slow down. This is why I took my time, and didn't rush babies.

 It probably sounds like I am complaining/whining and I don't mean to. I probably sound very negative nancy like, and I'm not trying to be. I am just fully realizing that life is going to HUGELY change and yes, for the better. And yes, I know kids are 100% a blessing, its worth it, etc. I truly believe that, because I already love the snot out of my unborn child. I can't even begin to comprehend how I think I will feel once I hold him/her in my arms. I also understand we are very lucky, as I have known friends and family (even now) who are struggling with major infertility, and would kill to have a baby. I don't take this baby for granted. However, I am realizing what is to come!  A lot of it is fear of the unknown, will I be a good mom, etc. I am still beyond thrilled and excited. I can't even wait to see his or her precious face, I can hardly stand it :). I did just need this post to express some slight worries and fears I'm having. I feel that this is a good outlet for me to get it all out, and get myself ready for this beautiful baby!

I'm certain I'm not the only one who had these fears the first time around...mommies, what were some of your fears?

Till next time!

4 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy canoli! 16 weeks today, AKA 4 months!!!! What the heck, it is flying by so fast! I can only imagine once Muggle gets here, time will still fly!

This has been a fantastic pregnancy so far, and I am still so incredibly thankful for this amazing miracle that is happening in my body. It still blows my mind that I am taking part of creating a human. WOW!

Here is the round up of my pregnancy so far:
How are you feeling: Pretty dang good! I know, some people are going to be irritated. Sorry. However, I got hit with  a horrible bouts of round ligament pain (another post about that) that was so severe and lasted for 2 1/2 days straight non stop. Docs told me the pain I was experiencing was close to contractions, because mine was that bad. YUCK! Must have been a rehearsal for the final performance? LOL! Beyond that, I have been feeling pretty great! I'm super loving my more thick hair, yay!!

Belly popped yet? Heck yeah it has popped! I know some first timers don't show until way late, which made me feel self conscious at first, not sure why! My mom and sister both have showed early and were ALL belly. I am wondering if I am following those steps as well. I don't mind though! My tummy is very tight (doesn't feel like chub and bloat anymore) and I LOVE rubbing it, as well as hubs!

Cravings? Aversions? Did you ever get ANY morning sickness?My few food aversions have slowly gone away. Meat and I are speaking again, lol. I still am not a fan of salad, lol! I haven't had any wild cravings. In the beginning all I wanted was sugar, but luckily that went away. Recent cravings have been cheese, chocolate milk and shakes. Pretty much dairy lol! And no sickness. How the heck did I get so lucky? I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO thankful beyond measure for that. For all my peeps who dealt with that, you deserve an extra jewel in your crown!

Wearing maternity clothes? Yes, some. I'm officially in maternity jeans. I can still wear my pre-preg jeans with a band, but maternity jeans is where its at! They are SO comfy! I still fit in most of my tops and sweaters, but I got a few maternity tops. I have had fun putting together cute preggo outfits! So fun!

Any baby movement? No and I think I am too early. I'm sure soon though!

Weight gain? I have gained only about 2-3 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. YES, I am eating, that's for sure. Not sure what that all means but my doctor hasn't said anything. So, I'm not worried.

Any names? Yes, we have a few for each gender! Not revealing quite yet!

Gender preference? No way. Either would be a blast in a glass. My biggest concern is that Muggle is healthy from the top of his/her little head to his/her toes. I just want a healthy baby!

Are you having crazy mood swings? Um, a little. Certain things bug me that prob wouldn't have before.  Beyond that though, I am happy as can be. OH, I am still uber sensitive. Everything makes me cry.

How is your sleeping? Wow, I wake up with my hips, back and joints KILLING me! I hear it only gets worse, lol! I'm sleeping with a body pillow. Still sleeping well, except for the need to pee at 3am ( rehearsal for late night feedings? LOL)

Stretch marks? None yet...though I am just waiting for it, lol! Isn't it too early to get marks anyway? I feel like I have heard most don't get any till late in their pregnancies. I used to be petrified about getting them, but I am learning to just embrace it if it comes. This is part of the process and I won't die if I get any. There are worse things that can happen!

Have strangers made comments or try to touch your belly? Can people touch your belly? Actually no! I thought  people would point out my belly (since I feel huge) but it hasn't happened much, so no one really rubs my belly then, lol! Only one person has made a comment, a sweet older lady. She was very cute! I think strangers touching my belly would be a bit odd. However, I don't mind family and friends rubbing, maybe if they ask first? Lol! I don't mind, :)

So happy for our precious little one! This is Muggle's latest portraits, lol!!

Disneyland and the preggo

I have a lot to blog, so bear with me as I try to catch up!

Last week, we had Thanksgiving break and it was wonderful. One of the fabulous perks was going to Disneyland with my sister and her little family. We went Saturday through Monday.

I have grown to love Disneyland. I loved it of course as a little one, but as a grown up, it didn't seem as fun, thanks to my silly annoyance for the crowds.

However, I love it now! It was a jam packed, very busy weekend. Despite the crowds, we truly had a good time. Again, my hats off to my stroller parents. I don't know how y'all keep your cool pushing these huge strollers with sometimes crying little ones. YOU ROCK.

One interesting thing was going to DL as a preggo. Now, we went back in October, and I was barely 5 weeks. I still went on the big rides (DON'T judge me) for the exception of Tower and the California Screamin'. Now that I was a little over 3 months, I knew the big rides would be a no-no. I was a little nervous if the trip would still be fun. Of course, it totally was! I went on a ton of stuff, minus the big ones. I only had to sit out a few rides, and at that time I caught up on reading and enjoyed getting to sit for a minute.

Some interesting things on this trip:

-I think I know where every single dang bathroom is in Disneyland and Cal Adventures. My family deserves awards for putting up with my 1,000 trips to the bathroom.

-So Cal "winters" are glorified springs. It was so freaking warm! As many of you know, I am a weirdo and I don't like feeling hot. I LOVE cold weather, so this was annoying. It did get cold at night! 

-I felt like all the kids at Disneyland were more "behaved" than the adults. I had a lot of "SMH" moments at so many grownups.

-The lighting of the castle and the Christmas World of Color is truly magical. I may or may not have cried at both. Dang hormones!

Some sweet pics of the trip. I am not featuring my sis and co., as my blog isn't private. It was so fun! So thankful for the opportunities to take these trips!

Hubs and I, what a great shot of us, HAHA

us in the midst of the crowd chaos

Babe found an old swimmer from Galt. We always see people!!!

Baby Muggle and I!!!Ha, my bump looks non-existent! I was so surprised how much I "popped" over the last 2 weeks!

The biggest suprise of my life...a round up of 12 weeks

So...

As you have all heard, yes, this Potter is having a muggle.

I still can't believe (God willing everything continues to be smooth) that I will be a mother in 6 months.


As you know, I have put off being a mommy for a long time, and that was my choice. That in itself is a whole other post. However, I decided to take a leap of faith and God truly, has blessed us with a miracle, our baby!!! I am very well aware of that I am very lucky we were able to conceive, as there are many people in my life that have struggled or currently are struggling. I don't take this pregnancy for granted, not even for a minute. I feel like I cry tears of joy (lol hormones) everyday and I am so thankful!

I'm officially 12 weeks 4 days pregnant as of today, woo hoo! To do a round up of my first trimester (since I know y'all are chomping at the bit, LOL!) , I will go over it section by section.

How I found out: I found out I was preggo on my mom's bday, September 22nd. I was one day late (LOL) but I felt something was different. So that night, I took a test and immediately, it said pregnant. WHOA.

  

 
How hubs found out: I know lots of gals do cutesy things but I was so shocked that I somehow wandered in the kitchen and silently showed him. He looked at it and literally slapped it away. Not that he wasn't happy, but he was stunned and he wanted so badly to be a dad that he JUST couldn't believe it. After 5 minutes of shock, we cried tears of joy and we hugged. I then was like "now what?" I got on the phone with Kaiser, and they talked to me about the next steps.

Morning sickness? Nausea? How did you feel?:  Some people are going to hate my guts, but for the most part, I felt/feel great! I  OF COURSE was tired, had sore boobs, etc. But as far as morning sickness goes, I felt great! There were a few times I felt super nauseated, but it was totally not that bad. I also realized how insanely blessed I was in this department. HOWEVER...I did experience a lot of crazy, painful cramping that sent me into a nervous tailspin. It was painful!!! Turns out as long as there was no bleeding, this is fairly normal.

Cravings? Aversions?: I have been craving starbursts, but nothing really crazy. Meat, olives (lol), bacon and even salad disgusted me. Sadly, at one of my favorite breakfast places, I couldn't even eat my favorite scramble. It grossed me out, LOL!

Tummy: I'm in that super awkward stage where I look fat. I wasn't a super skinny minny to begin with, so I just look, well chubs. However, I have noticed in the last day or two my lower part of my stomach getting tight. I would love to just pop so I'm not so chub lookin' LOL!

Wearing maternity clothes yet?: No, but I would think it would be too early? However, yesterday I bought 2  pretty, white flowy shirts, as my clothes are starting to feel tight. I still can wear my jeans no prob, but I just can't button them! My sister was a life saver and gave me a bella band that has made me feel so much better!!

How are the hormones?: Holy crap. I cry at everything. I am soooooooooo emotional. I feel so bad for hubs!!!

How did the families find out?: Now that was fun! We decided to wait to tell everyone till I was almost 12 weeks. That was so dang hard. It was so worth it though! For each side of the family, we bought a cake and put a bump picture on top! I will have to post the videos. The reactions are priceless! It was SO fun to surprise them!

Are you finding out? If so, when?: Heck yeah we are finding out!!! I'm not one of those people who can just wait. I have very gender specific nursery ideas, and I just want to know!! When we do find out, it will be on January 15th to be exact. I have to drink an ocean prior (not looking forward to that) and hopefully muggle is cooperative. We are also wanting to have a gender revealing party!

Well, can't think of too much more! I am just filled with joy at being pregnant! Thank you Jesus for this miracle! Here is our little muggle! I love him/her already!

 

     Our precious muggle at 6 weeks, 3 days

    Precious muggle at 10 weeks!!! I'm so amazed!! God is so good!!!!

Disneyland

Hello all.

WTH is my issue with blogging? LOL! I have been good about Favorite Fridays but not much else. Really, there is no excuse. So here is this post hoping to change all that.

A few months ago my sister and I talked about taking a trip to Disneyland with her little family unit. I thought that would be awesome and we started planning it.

Hubs and I realized that for the amount of days we were going, we might as well invest in season passes. At first I wasn't too keen on the idea but in doing the math, it made sense. So, we got our passes! Since purchasing them in June, we have gone 3 times now and we are hoping to go next month!

I think it was a great investment and it has been really fun! The price may be shocking at first but when you break it down on how much you really spend after 2-3 days, its not that bad. Also Disneyland does a pay per month deal with no interest, if people can't pay all at once. Having passes also made me love Disneyland all over again! Here are some fun pictures of our times that we have gone:

 

It's been awesome! Love having our passes!!

Favorite Fridays: My fave skin care products

Hi all!!
I know...I am lagging on posts. UGH!!! Well, here is a video post of my fave skin care products! I hope you all have a great weekend! Eww... don't mind my scary face under this. WTH did it have to stop there when I am making a wacko face? LOL!!!!

Favorite Fridays: beauty haul

Hey hey hey!!!

 It's Favorite Fridays! 

Here's another video post of a makeup haul of some of my favorite things!!

http://youtu.be/vDypjOq1L-g

4 years

 

Today is hubs and I's 4th wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. I remember like it was just yesterday I was walking down the aisle to become a wife. Our wedding was very beautiful and wonderful. I really enjoyed every second of our special day. I know people sometimes are nervous or anxious about getting married. I never felt that way. I knew very quickly upon dating with my husband that I wanted to be his wife. Marriage is truly wonderful. Like every marriage, ours is definitely not perfect. We have had our big ups and our lows. However, we are partners in our marriage, which has made our marriage strong.

It has been a great 4 years and I look forward to what the future holds for us! Here is some pics through the years....

 

 

 

Wedding day, 09/19/09

First Anniversary

Second Anniversary

Third Anniversary

Fourth Anniversary :)

Favorite Fridays: the case of finding a dupe

Hey everyone! 

It's been a minute since I have posted!! A few weeks ago I posted about a fabulous but pricey mascara duo. 

I got good feedback but many people didn't  want to spend a fortune on mascara and I agree. So I made a video because  I think I found a dupe! Check on my video! As a disclaimer I made this video bright and early BEFORE my students came. Just wanted to throw it out there so there was no judgement, LOL

http://youtu.be/SKbrKh6abrM

No heat bouncy curls...the experiment

Hello to my faithful three readers!!

 So I didn't get a chance to do "favorite Fridays" this past week which is kind of a bummer because I did have something planned. Well I'll double up this upcoming Friday. 

  Well I have been wanting to do this experiment for a long while now. As many of you know I have androgenetic alopecia. Which bottom line means my hair is thinning. I was diagnosed with this 2 years ago. I will say my hair has improved some. I've tried to not worry about it because honestly there are worst things in life. However I try to do things to take care of my hair. Unfortunately I have one of those types of hair that you cannot just wash and dry. It looks disgusting, frizzy and crazy looking. Unfortunately for my hair to even look somewhat good requires a lot of product and tools and mostly heat, which isn't good. I end up wearing my hair a lot which is a total bummer. About a week and a half ago I posted on Facebook if people knew of a good way to achieve beach wavy hair without using a lot of product or heat. 

A friend posted a tutorial for headband hair which is supposed to achieve bouncy curls with zero heat. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try it. 

So start with cleanish, dry hair, like so:

Next wet it down just a touch. Not a lot or it won't stick. Next put mousse or hair spray:

Next, grab a stretchy head band. Love this one:

 

And put it on like so. I have seen lots of girls wear headbands like this lately! Wish I was brave to copy the trend!

Next, grab a 1-2 piece section, wrap it around the headband and gently pull it through:

Will look like this:

Keep going all around your head and it will look like this:

End product and now go to bed! 

 

Next morning...

Now gently pull out the headband...and this monstrosity came from it.

Yikes....

Um yeah...so I put some major frizz tamer in my hair, mixed with a few drops of water. After playing around, this is now my hair 

Much better! Some thoughts:

-they are totally right with it saying it will be curly. Holy crap I had ringlets!

-your hair, if its like mine, will be big time frizzy. Make sure to have some sort of frizz spray on hand. 

-I will say for shorter hair like mine, your hair may look nuts. However just play around with it and it will look fine!

I'm stoked this tutorial ACTUALLY worked! I'm sold!!!

Till next time dolls!!!

Favorite Fridays: the most lethal mascara combo in the world

To my faithful three readers,

Well hi there! Happy Friday everyone! So I'm noticing my favorite Fridays are becoming all about my favorite beauty products. Well I'm okay with that. I love sharing things that I feel are good products! 

Here is another one of my newest faves, This fab little duo right here: 

I have blogged before about the falsies volume express by Maybelline. This mascara is also really great by itself though combined with this benefit mascara is even more crazier. 

First let's break down price. The falsies mascara runs about $5.99 which is not that bad at all. The benefit mascara "they're  real" runs about $21. Obviously you can tell I just have the sample size. 

So yes the benefit mascara is pretty expensive. However if you are like me and  love to have like you're wearing fake eyelashes, then this is definitely the best combination in the entire world, hands down. I start off by with clean lashes and I curl them. I start off with one good coat of the benefit mascara. I don't give much time for it to even dry and I immediately apply the falsies eyelash mascara. I usually go over with one more good coat of the benefit mascara then I move on to the other eye. I love the final product. It seriously looks like I straight up have on fake eyelashes. Now yesterday I did this combination and I felt like my eyelashes looked amazeballs. Of course it didn't take a picture. I did this combination today but I felt like it wasn't as good because I rushed. However this is what it looks like, after wearing this mascara for almost 8 hours now:

  

I do apologize for my scary, tired looking eyes LOL! Well there you have it, another two products that I'm absolutely in love with! Happy Friday sweeties,  enjoy your weekend!!!